FT Alphachat

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In each edition of Alphachat, the bloggers from FT Alphaville and an invited guest will delve deeply into a topic or theme related to financial markets. Expect the same wonkiness, humour, and occasional irreverence that you find on Alphaville itself.

In each edition of Alphachat, the bloggers from FT Alphaville and an invited guest will delve deeply into a topic or theme related to financial markets. Expect the same wonkiness, humour, and occasional irreverence that you find on Alphaville itself.

In each edition of Alphachat, the bloggers from FT Alphaville and an invited guest will delve deeply into a topic or theme related to financial markets. Expect the same wonkiness, humour, and occasional irreverence that you find on Alphaville itself.

Economist Michael Mandel joins Cardiff Garcia to talk about the research that he and co-author Bret Swanson have published on "the coming productivity boom" -- an optimistic case for productivity growth based on the application of information technology in physical industries such as manufacturing and healthcare.

Sociologist Richard Ocejo joins Cardiff Garcia to talk about the way educated urbanites have upscaled and transformed traditionally low-income manual jobs from bartending to butchery, and what it suggests about the evolution of the labour market in the age of automation. It is the subject of Ocejo's most recent book, Masters of Craft.

This is a bonus episode featuring parts of Cardiff Garcia's interview with economist Anne Case that did not make it into the episode published on April 21. In this Alphachat extra the two discuss Anne's experience dealing with bloggers and other commentators who react to her work, how her research in South Africa shaped her approach to health economics and why height turns out to be such a useful variable in her research.

Economist Alice Rivlin joins Cardiff Garcia to discuss her storied Washington career, from her roles in three different presidential administrations, to the first director of the Congressional Budget Office, to Vice-Chair of the Federal Reserve, to her current post at the Brookings Institution.

Maria Konnikova, a writer and author of “The Confidence Game: Why We Fall For It… Every Time” talks to host Cardiff Garcia about her work and the challenge of judging the quality of social-science research. The two also discuss big data, open-plan offices, sleep and the psychological effects of pornography. Maria also describes the methods and traits of con artists, and explains why everyone is susceptible to being a victim.

Historian and biographer Jeremy Adelman joins Cardiff Garcia to survey the life and philosophy of economist Albert O. Hirschman, from his work on development economics to "The Passions and the Interests", his book about the forgotten intellectual history behind the emergence of capitalism.

Economist and polymathic author Tyler Cowen talks to Cardiff about his essay, "Stubborn Attachments", in which he shares his vision for a free and prosperous society - and the philosophical foundations necessary to build it.

Economist Anne Case joins Cardiff Garcia to talk about her trilogy of research papers that revealed the stunning reversal of mortality trends among certain groups of Americans. The two also discuss the methodology used in the papers and her comprehensive theory behind the causes of these trends.

Short seller Jim Chanos talks to the FT's Matt Klein about his illustrious career in investment management, including his bet against Enron before it went bust in 1999. Mr Chanos also discusses the mechanics of short selling, his research process, and some of the opportunities he said he missed.

Cardiff Garcia and Shannon Bond explore how companies have tried to capitalise on the politically charged climate that has developed since the campaign and election of Donald Trump, and how it has backfired for some of them. Plus the FT's Anna Nicolaou and Hearst's Troy Young join as guests.

Social-psychologist Robert Cialdini joins Cardiff Garcia to discuss the psychology of influence and the importance of what you do before attempting to persuade someone, which is the subject of his latest book "Pre-suasion". The two also cover the role of persuasion in politics, specifically the way it has been used by Donald Trump and Barack Obama.

Cardiff Garcia talks to Alphaville's Matt Klein and FT senior investment commentator John Authers about the consequences and lessons of a famous call to sell stocks. Then, MIT economist Andrew Lo talks to John about the adaptive markets hypothesis, the subject of his forthcoming book. Clip courtesy of NBC.

Writer Erica Grieder joins Cardiff Garcia to discuss what the rest of America can learn from the economic model of Texas, and how the state will be affected by the Trump administration's trade and immigration policies.

Writer Annie Lowrey joins Cardiff Garcia to discuss a pilot project to implement UBI in more than 100 African villages. Then, Alphaville's Matt Klein stops by to debate whether the concept of full employment is complete nonsense.

FT economics writer Martin Sandbu joins host Cardiff Garcia to discuss economic ideas that would have been considered unthinkably radical or excessive a few years ago, but which are now generating serious discussion.

Writer Leigh Gallagher joins Cardiff and Shannon to discuss the founders, the controversies and the future of the tech company that transformed the hospitality industry. It's the subject of Leigh's latest book, out on Tuesday.